First published in Food + Home Magazine, Fish Tales column, Summer 2021
In my recent Food + Home Magazine column, published in Central California, I used this award-winning recipe to promote the local Pacific rockfish fishery of Santa Barbara. My goal is to promote local fishermen and businesses who support local fisheries by showing that seafood is an easy and healthy option for any meal! Read below for other seafood options that you can use. Pro tip: this is a perfect way to use leftover fish or serves as an appetizer over sliced crusty bread. The best part? It takes less than 10 minutes to make. BOOM!
An Easy Rockfish Salad You Can’t Mess Up
My husband is a commercial fisherman, and I’m not too fond of cooking, which means our dinners usually consist of sautéed veggies on brown rice. Thankfully, seafood is quick and easy to handle, plus a fresh catch from a local fisherman will turn a basic dinner into a superior meal—a win-win.
Right now, Vermillion Rockfish is on the menu. This white fish goes by “pacific snapper,” “pacific red snapper,” or “rock cod,” on the market, but it’s actually uncouth. Kim Selkoe, Founder & CEO of Get Hooked Seafood, a community-supported fishery in Santa Barbara, explains that Vermillion Rockfish roam from Baja to Alaska in waters that range from one hundred to five hundred feet in depth. “It’s best to not to continue to pass off pacific rockfish as snapper, and instead encourage local pride and recognition of ‘pacific rockfish.'” Get Hooked sources rockfish from Channel Island, Moss Landing, and Morgan Hill fishermen. Have a fresh seafood box delivered each week but subscribing to www.GetHookedSeafood.com, or search for pacific rockfish at your local seafood market.
Now the fun part: eating them. I love this recipe because there are no measurements, and you can shake the ingredients together in a Mason jar – less mess. Serve this taste-to-your-liking recipe as a fish salad sandwich, use the sauce as spread over a fish filet, or placed it atop a bed of greens (seen here). For a picnic, place the jars in a cooler and dish them up on site. Fun fact, I won an award for this recipe in the sustainable seafood contest from the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum. I used Channel Islands spiny lobster caught by my husband, but shrimp and crab are excellent substitutions, too. It proves that you don’t have to make an elaborate meal to enjoy a memorable seafood supper.
Easy Rockfish Salad You Can’t Mess Up
Ingredients:
Cooked fish, flaked and refrigerated. (Leftovers work great!)
Greens of choice
Mayo
Worcestershire Sauce
Lemon wedge
Purple Onion, chopped into bits
Salt
Pepper
Chives, finely chopped (option)
Directions:
Place flaked chilled fish into a mixing bowl or Mason Jar. Add a squirt of mayo, onions, a dash of salt, a pinch of pepper, a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce, and a squeeze of lemon. Add to taste. Mix or screw cap on the jar and shake well. Place atop greens and garnish with chives. Serve with crusty bread. Enjoy!
Have you tried this recipe yet? Will you? Please let me know in the comments below!
